Sunset / Sunrise

The Dutchess and the Duke's sophomore record, Sunrise/Sunset, is a slump-dodging opus that takes the dark, draw beauty of the band's debut and scales it up to distinctly luminescent heights, thanks to a graceful synthesis of painfully earned creative maturity and thoughtful production under Ashley's adroitly tuned ears.

Though minor chords and romantically morose lyrical yarns about misplaced affections and spiritual inertia remain touchstones, there's a refreshing undercurrent of optimistic light running through the songs like 'The River' and 'New Shadow,' a bewildered and beautiful reflection on Lortz's impending parenthood. The presence of Lortz's innate grasp of classic '60s pop structures is still audible, but so is growth beyond an obvious affection for early Rolling Stones, with songs like 'Let It Die' pulsing with a sly warmth and subtle twang all their won.